Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Tragia. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Tragia. Sort by date Show all posts

Monday, October 25, 2010

Angled Castor (Ariadne ariadne minorata)

Angled Castor is a common butterfly found all over the island in all the year round, though becoming scarce above 1200m. It is abundant in degraded vegetations. Its larval host plant is Thel Edaru (Ricinus communis), a plant which is widely cultivated to extract Castor oil. Hence the vernacular English name for this butterfly. However in Sri Lanka only three Tragia (කහඹිලියා) species are identified as its larval host plants (Tragia plukenetiiTragia involucrata(Indian Stinging Nettle) - both Known as වැල් කහඹිලියා in Sinhala  and Tragia hispida)

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Joker (Byblia ilithyia)

Rare butterfly restricted to the scrub lands of northwestern coast from Chilaw to Jaffna.  Ormiston recorded of seeing numbers settled on a small bush at Palatupana of Hambantota district in 1909. But neither him nor anyone else met it there since. Its larva feeds on leaves of Tragia plukenetii (වැල් කහඹිලියා)